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Dungeness crabs in Oakland Chinatown

I was lucky enough to find a decent parking spot right on 9th Street, so had an hour to wander at noon today. I went to my favorite place for takeout fried stuffed tofu (Sun Hing on 8th and Webster) and pipa duck ($11). Further down the street is a fish market, selling crabs for $2.39/lb. Got one just under 2 lbs. to steam tonight.

Decided to try Shan Dong as I have been on a bao tze kick recently. Ordered the pork & veg. bao and a bowl of zha zhiang mien with the hand cut noodles. Also got a complimentary bowl of hot and sour soup. The soup was actually pretty good, just enough pepper and a little more vinegar than I would use, but otherwise very similar to my mom's. She usually puts in shredded pork, but this one didn't have any meat that I could tell. The bao is a meal unto itself, looked like it had been sitting for a while, as it was yellower in color than if it came freshly out of the steamer. Filling was ok, not as juicy as at Shanghai Gourmet in Walnut Creek or as much flavor, but decent at $1 apiece. The noodles were just the right texture, chewy yet not gummy. The sauce is very dark, with bits of pressed tofu, meat and onions. Usually we put some shredded cucumber on top as a cooling counterpoint, but this was missing. Only ate half, took the rest home. Otherwise, a nice meal, all for $8.

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